Reading VA
by Punk'sgirlForLifexxx
Summary: They get a package and have to read Va, but I am not posting every single chapters, in order I will put ones I think would be funny for them to read. Full summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

****MUST READ SUMMARY!****

**Summary: After Spirit Bound, Rose and Dimka get back together, Daniella had framed Rose, and they found Lissa's Brother is ADRIAN! Anyway, They all get a package and have to read, these books call Vampire Academy, the thing is, I'm only writing the Chapter's I think would be funny if they read, like the Lust Charm chapter or Adrian and Rose in Spirit Bound. Don't like the idea don't read.**

"Roza, C'mon we're gonna be late." Dimitri dragged me to the car.

"I don't wanna go to court!" I whined.

"Rose you are twenty three, is it necessary to whine?" He asked me, lifting up one eyebrow.

"YES!" I grumbled to myself getting into the car.

We got to court, and we were put into a steal room.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I yelled.

"By order of the court, you, Guardian Hathaway, Guardian Belikov, Lord Ivashkov, Queen Dragomir, King Ozera, Mrs. Castile, Mr. Castile, Miss Jill, Mr. Abe and Miss. Janine are demanded to stay in here until all five books are read." The Guardian said.

I turned around to see my family and friends sitting around looking at the books.

"Hey." I said walking to everyone.

"Hello Rosemarie." Mom said.

"Rose!" Adrian hugged me.

"Ugh. I'm seriously stuck in here, with this?" I asked pointing to Adrian.

"Yes." Chris grumbled, I take it he wasn't to happy about it either.

"Holy Shit is that Eddie?" I asked pointing, to the all grown up Male sitting beside. Mia… aka Mrs. Castile. I know I was shocked too.

"Yes, Rose its me." He got up to hug me.

"You got old." I pointed out.

"You too." He looked me over.

"Fuck off." I smacked him playfully.

Everyone laughed.

"Your Highness." I smirked bowing to Lissa.

"Seriously?" She asked getting up to hug me.

"What about me?" Chris asked.

"Nice to see you, your High ass." I said.

Everyone laughed.

"Hey Kiz." Dad hugged me.

"hey Old man," I hugged him back.

"So lets read shall we?" Mom said.

"Why the fuck does the book have my face on it?" I asked looking at the first book.

"Nobody know's." Adrian said.

"Great." I said.

"Who's reading first?" Mia asked.

"Dimitri can, the big book worm." I said throwing the book at him.

"Chapter one." he began.

**Should I continue?**

**REVIEW REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2 Chap 1

**Chapter 2**

**I cannot say thank you enough to everyone that reviewed, telling me to continue. Love you all (L)**

**I own NOTHING ITS ALL RICHELLE MEAD!**

**RPOV**

I Felt her fear before I heard he screams.

"That's some serious Shit." Christian commented, before we even got a paraghraph into the book. "Shut- up." I said to him.

He nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me. Images- hers not mine- tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me , until some rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn't my dream.

"Are you telling me this book is all in my POINT OF VIEW!" I screeched.

"I can't believe it." Christian said.

"I KNOW!" I yelled.

"Not that! The fact you have a rational side to you." He snickered.

"Butt seriously, if this is all my point of view, I'm burning in hell." I sunk down in my seat.

"Don't worry Little Dhampir, me too." Adrian assured me.

"that's what I'm afraid of." I stated.

"It should all be fine." Lissa assured me.

I woke up, Strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead.

Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us. "Liss." I said shaking her. "Liss, wake up."

Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre." she moaned. "Oh god."

"What going on?" Mia asked.

"Liss, you don't think this is when..?" I trailed off.

"I think so." She sighed. Christian had a comforting arm around her, rubbing her arm.

"Ugh!" I moaned.

I helped her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up." After a few moments, her eye's fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair.

"I didn't know Rose was capable of being nice." Mia laughed.

"I did." Adrian smirked at me, remembering our love's past.

"Shut up Ivashkov." I said warning.

"What is he talking about?" Jail Bait asked.

"Just shut up, and read DIMITRI!" I yelled.

"PMS?" Eddie laughed at me.

"Sure. Or the fact that you are all pissing me off!" I said.

"Okay, miss grouchy pants." Mom said.

"Daddy Make them stop!" I whined.

He glared at everyone except me, My mom and Lissa.

"It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."

"I had that dream."

"Yeah. I know."

We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat Oscar leapt up into the open window.

He gave me a wide berth—animals didn't like dhampirs, for whatever reason—but jumped up on the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly. Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved her in particular. Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.

"I didn't know you like animals!" Christian said.

"Because After what I had gone through, I didn't ever want to get supper attached to one again." Lissa said.

I could feel sadness through the bond.

"When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face.

"ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY! That better not mean what I think it means," Mom said. Lissa and I sunk into our seats.

"Ahh Fuck." Mom cursed.

Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty around her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. "It's been like…over two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to…"

"Oh my god! I knew it!" Mia chimmed.

Mom and Dad glared at her, Jill looked shocked.

I still don't know why she's here.

"Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window where he could watch at a safe distance. 

"Smart Cat." Chris said.

"Come on. Let's do this."

"Rose…"

"Come _on_. It'll make you feel better."

I tilted my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans. Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blonde hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire.

As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help. A weakness I couldn't shake.

Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high. Better than sex—or so I imagined, since I'd never done it. It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on, it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was.

Then, regretfully, it was over. It had taken less than a minute.

She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"

"I…yeah." I lay back onto the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. "I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."

Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."

"At least you did that much." Dad scoffed.

"hey! Old man! Shush!" I said, Lissa was not at fault here.

My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.

"You don't know what you're missing," I told him.

"I think he knows damn well." Eddie said.

"Ohh Bite mE." I sneered.

Me and Eddie continued making faces at each other until Adrian told us to grow up.

I laughed out loud.

"Coming from you? HA!" I Laughed.

His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet black fur. His tail started twitching.

My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention.

A warm breeze—unseasonably warm for a Portland fall—played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months sat on a residential street with old, mismatched houses. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes.

And a man watching me.

`WHAT THE HELL! You guy's were being stalked!" Chrissie said.

"NO!" me and Lissa said together looking at Dimitri, who had a blank expression shone on his face.

I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him. 

"I should have!" I laughed at Dimitri.

"No. bad rose!" lissa scolded me.

"I'm not a dog! NOBODY SAY A WORD!" I said.

He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I just did.

The shadows covered him so well, that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save his height. He was tall. Really tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both.

Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.

Something similar to what he always sensed from me.

Icy fear raced through me, almost—but not quite—eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process. Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door.

Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book. Lissa regarded me with surprise.

"You shouldn't be up."

"We have to go. Now."

Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you…really? Are you sure?"

I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.

Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?"

An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."

He looked back and forth between us. "What are you—"

Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too…her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.

She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused, and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.

"Oh… you didn't." mom whined.

"But we did" I laughed.

"We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?"

He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when directed at another person. That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong. Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red keychain.

"Thank you," said Lissa. "And where's it parked?"

"Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." Four blocks away.

"Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."

He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion, but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.

"Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."

We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with.

"Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.

"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."

"But if they've found us…"

"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."

I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom.

She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened—sometimes recklessly so. She was the more reasonable one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate.

"What if it was a STRIGOI!" Mom said.

"WELL IT WASN"T!" I yelled back.

Lissa and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell _Vasilisa Dragomir_ and _Rosemarie Hathaway_ was beyond cruel, and we'd—or rather, _I'd_—responded appropriately. I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard. I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target.

Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.

Everyone laughed at me.

"True Rose fashion. I remember Mason telling me how funny that was after." Eddie reminisced, and I felt atomatically sad. So did Eddie, I could see it in his eye's.

"Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly.

It took me a few seconds to pick up what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go.

"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.

"But you can't—"

"Run."

It took every ounce of my willpower not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally I could have outrun her without any extra effort—particularly since she was barefoot—but tonight, she was all that held me upright.

The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it—

Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path. We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was _him_,

"_HIM!"_ Adrian mocked me.

"whats you're point?" I asked.

the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably 6'6" or 6'7". And under different circumstances—say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape—I would have thought he was hot. Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back into a short pony-tail. Dark brown eyes. A long, brown coat like horse riders wore, not quite a trench coat. A duster, I thought it was called.

"Dimitri?" Adrian asked, gasping.

"Adrian I thought we cut you off the alcohol?" Lissa asked.

"We did. Then Somebody may have snuck him a bottle or two." Eddie and Christian high fived.

Me and Lissa shook our heads.

But his hotness was irrelevant now. He was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many.

"You two were a force to be reckoned with." Dimitri kissed my cheek.

Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning, I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader.

"Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."

His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate.

"I'm not going to—"

He took a step forward. Too close.

"Rose!" Mom groaned.

"My girl." Dad said proudly.

I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid, another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished her training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out.

And man, was he fast.

"No shit Sherlock." Mom said.

I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras. He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard—probably just intended to keep me away—but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. A _lot_.

Only it didn't.

Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright.

"Aww." I said, like an audience would who weren't all on emotional idiots.

Everyone looked at me as if I had three heads.

When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me—or, more precisely, at my neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin. Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. It was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason.

The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted. Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught a hold of mine. "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't."

"Smart one." MIa said pointing to Lissa.

"Hey Jill. You havent said anything yet." Adrian slung his arm around her shoulders.

Jill blushed.

Aww she had a crush on Adrian.

"Umm… I don't know what to say. I don't even know why I'm here." She confessed. So I wasn't the only one! HAHA!

Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond . It wasn't exactly compulsion—she wouldn't use that on me—but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew this would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.

Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height. "My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. 

"Sexiest accent ever BTW" I said kissing his cheek.

"Rose nobody wants to see that." Eddie teased me.

"Well there are a couple things nobody wants to hear either but I'll say them right now." I shot back.

"DON'T! I DON'T WANNA KNOW!" Dad plugged his ears.

"I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."

"End Chapter 1"

**REVIEW!**

**Next chapter will be chapter 2 then I'll skip a few ; )**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter2

"Roza you Read." Dimitri handed me the book.

'why?" I asked. I sure as hell didn't want to read.

'Because its you're Point of view. We should hear it from you." He said.

"Fine." I whined.

"Rose." He warned.

"I know."

MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING, I HAD to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever was pretty smart. After they'd carted us off to the airport to and onto the Academy's private jet, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated. 

"Good." Mom nodded to Dimitri.

"Shush! My turn!" I said.

"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the 

plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan." 

I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we had been 

planning escape. 

"Did you know?" I asked him.

"I could tell." He admitted.

As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes—or heroines, rather. Once we were in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians, we'd sort of have a problem in getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. 

"Always's thinking." Eddie teased me.

"Its more then what you do." I fought back.

No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians. Yeah. No problem. 

Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy, her fear sang back to me, pounding inside 

my head like a hammer. My concern for her cut into my fury. They couldn't take her back 

there, not to that place. I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did 

and if he knew what I knew. Probably not. He didn't care. 

"I cared! It was just my duty to get you safely back to the Academy!" He defended himself.

"But we shouldn't have been at the Academy. There was reasons we ran away." I said.

"HELLOOOO!" I heard someone walk in.

"Viktoria!" I ran and hugged her.

"Momma!" Dimitri ran and hugged her.

"Yeva!" Lissa ran and hugged Dimitri's grandmother. For some reason, they got along really really well.

"We were sent here to read the book with you, did we miss much?" Vikki asked.

"not, really. Its only chapter two. Rose and Lissa are being brought back to the Academy at this point." Chris said.

"Cool. Didn't we hear this story already?" Olena asked politely.

"Yes, but the book is written in Roses Point of view. Its weird." Mia said.

"Awesome, lets read." Vik said.

"Damn." I cursed in Russian. Yeah, that right. Dimitri taught me.

As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat—in herskin even. It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me, and my hand—her hand— gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols 

tattooed on the back of his neck:molnija marks. They looked like two streaks of jagged lightning crossing in an X symbol. One for each Strigoi he'd killed. Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian. The promise mark. 

Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened. Feeling Lissa's emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised. She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened. 

"ROSE!" Lissa whined.

"I'm sorry." I said.

Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could. 

Near the end of the flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. I pointedly turned away, staring out the window absentmindedly Several moments of silence passed. Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?" 

I didn't answer. 

"Of course not she's not that stupid." Abe said.

"Well she's your Daughter." Mom said to him.

I laughed and continued reading.

"Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave." He paused."Stupid, but still brave. 

Why did you even try it?" 

I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. 

"Because I'm her guardian." I turned back toward the window. 

After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet. 

When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree. After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunset—the start of the vampiric day—and the campus lay wrapped in shadows. 

It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here 

and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this 

place resembled a university more than a typical high school. 

We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while dhampir dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west. 

"nice details." Adrian said.

"If this books gets further into my life then I want it, then there will be worse Details on worse topics." I said to him.

Mom shook her head, and Dad looked PISSED!

Around all the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance. 

As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to 

Dimitri."Hey, Comrade."

"Really?" Viktoria asked.

"Yes." I smiled a hundred watt smile.

He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. "You want to talk now?"Are you taking us to Kirova?"

"Headmistress Kirova," he corrected. On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, 

Don't start something. 

"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—" 

"Rose you can't just call people with Authority a Bitch." Mom said.

"Why not?" Abe asked.

"Yeah, Why not?" I smirked.

She glared at us and huffed.

"Because its not polite." She said sternly.

My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors—straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people really so cruel? There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office, and they were taking us right through the center of the commons. 

And it was breakfast time. 

"That's Harsh Dimitri!" Adrian said.

"Shut it." I said glaring at him.

Novice guardians—dhampirs like me—and Moroi sat together, eating and socializing, faces 

alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud 

buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of 

eyes swiveled toward us. 

I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Conta still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered, still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before. 

And on the other side of the room…well, that was interesting. Aaron. Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever—maybe more so now—with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her. It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him. I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do. 

But what I found most interesting was that Aaron had apparently found a way to pass the time without her. Beside him, holding his hand, was a Moroi girl who looked about eleven but had to be older, unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence. 

"I do not look eleven! And Araon is not a Pedo!" She said.

"Ohh you DID!" Chris said.

With plump little cheeks and blond ringlets, she looked like a porcelain doll. A very pissed off and evil porcelain doll. She gripped his hand tightly and shot Lissa a look of such burning hatred that it stunned me. What the hell was that all about? She was no one I knew. Just a jealous girlfriend, I guessed. I'd be pissed too if my guy was watching someone else like that. 

Our walk of shame mercifully ended, though our new setting—Headmistress Kirova's office— didn't really improve things. The old hag looked exactly like I remembered, sharp-nosed and gray-haired. She was tall and slim, like most Moroi, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office. 

Dad smiled. "My little girl." He said.

"My Old Man." I said.

Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying, just as their job description required. 

Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a 

major bitch session. A deep, gentle voice stopped her. 

"Vasilisa." 

Startled, I realized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Careless for a 

guardian, even a novice one. 

With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov rose from a corner Victor Dashkov. 

Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body."Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her a small smile, he gently patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe,

Vasilisa." He looked toward me. "And you too, Rose." 

Lissa and I looked at each other.

"So stupid." We whispered together. Lissa let a tear fall. Christian hugged her tight.

I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this—this washorrible. He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him. With all the horrible people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king. 

Although not technically her uncle—the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals—Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him; he was the first person I was happy to see here. 

"I can't fucking read this shit anymore! All My thoughts. For everyone to see!" I said.

"Roza. Just finish the chapter. We can't leave until they are all read through." Dimitri kissed my cheek.

Fuck it. Why not.

Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat. 

Time for the lecture. 

It was a good one—one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actuallyliking kids. The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility reckless behavior, self-centeredness.…Bleh. I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office. 

But when the tirade shifted to me—well, that was when I tuned back in. 

"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a 

guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the 

princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs;you nearly 

enabled them to do it." 

"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her 

uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." 

Ms. Kirovatsked at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back. 

"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was stillher responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe." 

I snapped. 

"Idid do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone. Yet. 

"Nice." Jill said mainly to herself so I ignored her.

"I know you wanted, to. I could see the look in you're eye. Dimitri said.

"I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none ofyou"—I made a sweeping gesture around the room—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." 

Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let 

anger get the best of me. Too late. 

Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" 

I bit my lip. 

"there was wasn't there?" Mom asked.

Lissa and I shook our heads yes.

"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it, no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance." 

"What did you do?" Mia Asked.

"Uhh…." I didn't want to answer.

"No, that's not—" 

"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible." 

My cockiness dried up. "I…what?"Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian.""She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice.""But my parents—"

"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss 

Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave." 

I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me? To 

my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my 

father?" 

"ROSEMARIE!" Mom looked like she wanted to hit me. Ohh just wait she'll be wanting to hit a lot of people.

Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I 

barely recognized it. 

"Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone 

by the end of the day." 

I sank down in my chair.

"Rose its okay." Olena smiled sweetly at me.

"Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "you are out of line." 

"They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him. I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore. He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry in that ridiculous long coat of his.

"HA! I can see that!" Viktoria laughed out loud.

"Seriosuly Rose?" Dimitri said.

"Yes." I said.

He looked at me, not Lissa, his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" 

"How did you know?" Olena asked him.

"I don't know, I could sense it some how." Dimitri tried to explain.

"Hence his Zen life lessons." I said pointedly.

I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and 

Dimitri. "No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries.""It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."

"You were watching them." Adrian laughed to himself.

I took the compact out of my perce and threw it at him.

Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his."That is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."

"The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri. "In the stories." 

Kirova's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't 

suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—""Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?""Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. "Hersanctioned guardian.""You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"

"That was uncalled for." Eddie said.

"Yeah, I know." I said.

"Its okay." Dimitri hugged me.

That was pretty mean of me to say—particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent—but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S., but my parents were foreign-born. My dhampir mother was Scottish—red-haired, with a ridiculous accent—

"My Accent isn't ridiculous." mom defended herself.

"Yes it is." I said and kept reading.

and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish. 

"I am" Abe said proudly.

That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert- princess features:

"Seriously?" Christian said.

'yes." I said.

big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get. 

"You're hair is beautiful Roza." Dimitri whispered.

Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. "You see? Completely 

undisciplined! All the psychic bonds andvery raw potential in the world can't make up for that. 

A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian.""So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again.""Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers.""No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me.

As usual." Eddie smirked.

"Then give her extra training sessions," he continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My

pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that 

he might very well keep me here with Lissa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. 

Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope."Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?"Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I—"Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."

Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance? 

"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal 

ones." 

"Best decision ever." I said.

"Definetly." Dimitri agreed.

"Ugh." Adrian said.

"Oh shut it. You are just mad, you didn't get me in the end." I teased him.

Even though I knew it was killing him inside. I remembered all of our past lover stuuff. I really hated to hurt him.

"And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?" 

"Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down 

too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular." 

His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood 

whores." Few dhampir girls became guardians anymore. 

Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. 

Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent." 

Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule,morning andafternoon were relative terms. That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light. 

When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay." 

Oh, Lissa, I thought. Be careful. Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous— 

particularly in front of witnesses.

"LISSA!" My Mother chastised.

"Sorry." She shrunk into Christian.

But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the 

help we could get. Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening. 

I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed. 

"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of lineonce, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—beforeand after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away." 

I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I 

nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?" 

"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it." 

I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know. 

Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress. 

"Fine. I accept." 

"I'm done I'm not reading for another couple chapters." I stated.

**REVIEW!**

**And little does Rose know… She's reading the Lust Charm Chapter….**

**hehehehehe**


	4. Chapter 4 AN MUST READ VERY IMPORTANT!

**Okayyy A/N I'm sorry but I want to know something, Should I just Post the Lust charm chapter now because that's really what you guy's wanna read? LET ME KNOW! PM ME or Just Review please and thank you**

**The next update will probably next week some time (L)**


	5. Chapter 5 Lust Charm Chapter

**Okay so since I know this is what most of you want….. Here is them reading the Lust charm chapter. But don't fret, After about a week of leaving this online, I will delete it and then put it all in order from start to finish….**

**Hope you enjoy.**

RPOV

Holy shit I fricken hate this effing book.

But now It was my turn to read, and since I havent read anything in a while I have to read two chapters … eff them.

Twenty 

MY MOUTH DROPPED OPEN. "Uh…wait…you mean sex?" 

"No Rose, hea meant free pony Rides." Christian said his voice laced with sarcasm.

"They were rides but they weren't pony rides." Adrian said.

"I don't need to listen to this. Shut up." Abe said. I smirked.

My astonishment prevented me from thinking of a better response. Mason thought it was 

hysterical. Jesse looked like he wanted to die."Of course I mean sex. She said she'd do it if we said that we'd…you know…."I made a face. "You guys didn't both, uh, do it at the same time, did you?""No," said Jesse in disgust. Ralf kind of looked like he wouldn't have minded.

"EWWWW!" MIA said.

"I'm still surprised u slept with the idiots." Viktoria said.

Eddie looked really uncomfortable, listening to what his wife did when she was a teen.

"God," I muttered, pushing hair out of my face. "I can't believe she hates us that much.""Hey," exclaimed Jesse, reading into my insinuation. "What's that supposed to mean? We're not

that bad. And you and me—we were pretty close to—" 

"No. We weren't even close to that." Mason laughed again, and something struck me. "If 

this…if this happened back then, though…she must have still been dating Aaron."All three guys nodded."Oh. Whoa."

Miareally hated us. She'd just moved beyond poor-girl-wronged-by-girl's-brother and well into sociopath territory. She'd slept with these two and cheated on a boyfriend whom she seemed to adore. 

Jesse and Ralf looked incredibly relieved when we walked away. Mason slung a lazy arm 

around my shoulders. "Well? What do you think? I rule, right? You can tell me. I won't mind."I laughed. "How'd you finally find that out?""I called in a lot of favors. Used some threats. The fact that Mia can't retaliate helped too."

I recalled Mia accosting me the other day. I didn't think she was entirely helpless yet but didn't 

say so. 

"They'll start telling people on Monday" he continued. "They promised. Everyone'll know by 

lunch." 

"Why not now?" I asked sulkily. "They slept with a girl. Hurts her more than them." 

"Yeah. True. They didn't want to deal with it tonight. You could start telling people if you 

wanted to. We could make a banner." 

"That's harsh!" Mia defended herself.

"So was sleeping with Jessie." Eddie grumbled.

With as many times as Mia had called me a slut and a whore? Not a bad idea.

My parents looked ready to go on a killing spree.

"You got any 

markers and paper?…" 

My words trailed off as I stared across the gym to where Lissa stood surrounded by admirers, Aaron's arm around her waist. She wore a sleek pink cotton sheath in a shade I never could have pulled off. Her blond hair had been pulled up in a bun that she'd used little crystal hairpins on. It almost looked like she wore a crown. Princess Vasilisa. 

"I'm sorry." I mouthed to Lissa. She nodded.

_I understand._ She told me through the bond.

The same feelings as earlier hummed through to me, anxiety and excitement. She just couldn't 

quite enjoy herself tonight. 

Watching her from the other side of the room, lurking in the darkness, was Christian. He 

practically blended into the shadows."Stop it," Mason chided me, seeing my stare. "Don't worry about her tonight.""Hard not to."

"It makes you look all depressed. And you're too hot in that dress to look depressed. Come on, 

there's Eddie." 

He dragged me away, but not before I cast one last glance at Lissa over my shoulder. Our eyes 

met briefly. Regret flashed through the bond. 

But I pushed her out of my head—figuratively speaking— and managed to put on a good face 

when we joined a group of other novices. We earned a lot of mileage by telling them about the 

Mia scandal and, petty or not, seeing my name cleared and getting revenge on her felt amazingly good. 

"Rose you know revenge isn't always the answer." Mom said.

"Yes it is." Abe and I said at the same time, we smirked at each other.

And as those in our group wandered off and mingled with others, I could see the news spreading and spreading. So much for waiting until Monday. 

Whatever. I didn't care. I was actually having a good time. I fell into my old role, happy to see I hadn't grown too dusty in making funny and flirty remarks. Yet, as time passed and Eddie's party grew closer, I started to feel Lissa's anxiety pick up in intensity. Frowning, I stopped talking and turned around, scanning the room for her. 

There. She was still with a group of people, still the sun in her little solar system. But Aaron was leaning very close to her, saying something in her ear. A smile I recognized as fake was plastered across her face, and the annoyance and anxiety from her increased further. 

Then it spiked. Mia had walked up to them. 

Whatever she'd come to say, she didn't waste any time in saying it. With the eyes of Lissa's admirers on her, little Mia in her red dress gestured wildly, mouth working animatedly. I couldn't hear the words from across the room, but the feelings grew darker and darker through the bond. 

Some shit's about to go down." Eddie laughed.

"Ohh yes." I said.

"I've got to go," I told Mason. 

I half walked, half ran over to Lissa's side, catching only the tail end of Mia's tirade. She was yelling at Lissa full force now and leaning into her face. From what I could tell, word must have reached her about Jesse and Ralf selling her out. 

"—you and your slutty friend! I'm going to tell everyone what a psycho you are and how they had to lock you in the clinic because you're so crazy. They're putting you on medication. That's why you and Rose left before anyone else could find out you cut—" 

Whoa, not good. Just like at our first meeting in the cafeteria, I grabbed her and jerked her 

away.

"I can't even.. I can't I just cant even say how Sorry I am and How bad I feel about everything. I know I was a bitch. I just- ugh.. I need to leave." Mia said, Viktoria, My mother, and Father were giving her death galres.

"MIA! Sit." Lissa said.

"Its okay. Its all in the past." We all hugged, then I sat back in Dimitri's lap, My mom glared.

"Hey," I said. "Slutty friend here. Remember what I said about standing too close to her?"Mia snarled, baring her fangs. As I'd noted before, I couldn't feel too sorry for her anymore. She

was dangerous. 

She had stooped low to get back at me. Now, somehow, she knew about Lissa and the cutting. 

Really knew, too; she wasn't just guessing. The information she had now sounded both like 

what the guardians on the scene had reported, as well as what I'd told them about Lissa's 

history. Maybe some confidential doctor's stuff too. Mia'd snagged the records somehow. 

Lissa realized it too, and the look on her face—scared and fragile, no more princess—made my decision for me. It didn't matter that Kirova had spoken the other day about giving me my freedom, that I'd been having a good time, and that I could have let my worries go and partied tonight. I was going to ruin everything, right here and right now. 

I'm really not good with impulse control. 

"Ohh we know." Everyone, even Dimitri said inusion.

"Screw you guys." I said.

I punched Mia as hard as I could—harder, I think, than I'd even hit Jesse.

"ROSEMARIE! YOU CANT JUST GO AROUND HITTING ROYALS!" Mom said.

"Even though she deserved it." Abe said.

I heard a crunch as my fist impacted her nose, and blood spurted out. Someone screamed. Mia shrieked and flew backwards into some squealing girls who didn't want to get blood on their dresses. I swooped in after her, getting in one more good punch before somebody peeled me off her. 

I didn't fight restraint as I had when they'd taken me from Mr. Nagy's classroom. I'd expected this as soon as I'd swung at her. Stopping all signs of resistance, I let two guardians lead me out of the dance while Ms. Kirova tried to bring some semblance of order. I didn't care what they did to me. Not anymore. Punish or expel. Whatever. I could handle— 

Ahead of us, through the ebbing and flowing waves of students passing through the double doors, I saw a figure in pink dart out. Lissa. My own out-of-control emotions had overridden hers, but there they were, flooding back into me. Devastation. Despair. Everyone knew her secret now. She'd face more than just idle speculation. Pieces would fall together. She couldn't handle that. 

Knowing I wasn't going anywhere, I frantically searched for some way to help her. A dark figure caught my eye. "Christian!" I yelled. He'd been staring at Lissa's retreating figure but glanced up at the sound of his name. 

One of my escorts shushed me and took my arm. "Be quiet." 

I ignored her. "Go after her," I called to Christian. "Hurry." 

He just sat there, and I suppressed a groan. 

"Go, you idiot!" 

My guardians snapped at me to be quiet again, but something inside of Christian woke up. 

Springing up from his lounging position, he tore off in the direction Lissa had traveled. 

No one wanted to deal with me that night. There'd be hell to pay tomorrow—I heard talk of suspension or possibly even expulsion—

"THEY SHOULD HAVE! What you did was inexcusable." Mom scolded.

but Kirova had her hands full with a bleeding Mia and a hysterical student body. The guardians escorted me to my room under the watchful eye of the dorm matron who informed me she'd check on me every hour to make sure I stayed in my room. A couple guardians would also hang out around the dorm's entrances. Apparently I was now a high-security risk. I'd probably just ruined Eddie's party; he'd never sneak a group up to his room now. 

Heedless of my dress, I flounced onto the floor of my room, crossing my legs underneath me. I reached out to Lissa. She was calmer now. The events from the dance still hurt her terribly, but Christian was soothing her somehow, although whether it was through simple words or physical mojo, I couldn't say. I didn't care. So long as she felt better and wouldn't do anything stupid. I returned to myself. 

Yes, things were going to get messy now. Mia and Jesse's respective accusations were going to set the school on fire. I probably would get thrown out and have to go live with a bunch of skanky dhampir women.

"Again, you guys arent any of that." I said to my Russian family.

"we know Roza. Its okay." Olena said.

At least Lissa might realize Aaron was boring and that she wanted to be with Christian. But even if that was the right thing, it still meant— 

Christian. Christian. 

Christian was hurt. 

"Just a little, but its just Christian, no big deal." He said.

"Ohh shush." I said.

I snapped back into Lissa's body, suddenly sucked in by the terror pounding through her. She was surrounded, surrounded by men and women who had come out of nowhere, bursting up into the attic of the chapel where she and Christian had gone to talk. Christian leapt up, fire flaring from his fingers. One of the invaders hit him on the head with something hard, making his body slump to the ground. 

"WTF!" Vikki yelled.

"You'll see soon enough, well not soon really…." Dimitri left off. WELL SHIT! PLEASE NO!

I desperately hoped he was okay, but I couldn't waste any more energy worrying about him. All my fear was for Lissa now. I couldn't let the same thing happen to her. I couldn't let them hurt her. I needed to save her, to get her out of there. But I didn't know how. She was too far away, and I couldn't even escape her head at the moment, let alone run over there or get help. 

The attackers approached her, calling her Princess and telling her not to worry, and that they were guardians. And theydid seem like guardians. Definitely dhampirs. Moving in precise, efficient ways. But I didn't recognize them as any of the guardians from school. Neither did Lissa. Guardians wouldn't have attacked Christian. And guardians certainly wouldn't be binding and gagging her— 

Something forced me out of her head, and I frowned, staring around my room. I needed to go back to her and find out what had happened. Usually the connection just faded or I closed it off, but this—this was like something had actually removed me and pulled me. Pulled me back here. 

But that made no sense. What could pull me back from…wait. 

My mind blanked. 

I couldn't remember what I'd just been thinking about. It was gone. Like static in my brain. 

Where had I been? With Lissa? What about Lissa? 

Standing up, I wrapped my arms around myself, confused, trying to figure out what was going 

on. Lissa. Something with Lissa. 

Dimitri, a voice inside my head suddenly said. Go to Dimitri. 

Yes. Dimitri. 

"Why do you need to go see Dimitri? Couldn't you just go tell the matron out front?" Abe said.

"unhun." I said.

My body and spirit burned for him all of a sudden, and I wanted to be with him 

more than I ever had before. I couldn't stay away from him. He'd know what to do. 

And he'd told me before I should come to him if something was wrong with Lissa. Too bad I 

couldn't remember what that was. Still. I knew he'd take care of everything. 

Getting up to the staff wing of the dorm wasn't hard, since they wanted to keep me inside 

tonight. I didn't know where his room was, but it didn't was pulling me to 

him, urging me closer. An instinct pushed me toward one of the doors, and I beat the living 

daylights out of a few moments, he opened it, brown eyes widening when he saw me."Rose?""Let me in. It's Lissa."

He immediately stepped aside for me. I'd apparently caught him in bed, because the covers were peeled back on one side and only a small tableside lamp shone in the darkness. Plus, he wore only cotton pajama bottoms; his chest— which I'd never seen before, and wow, did it look great—was bare. The ends of his dark hair curled near his chin and appeared damp, like he'd taken a shower not so long ago. 

"What's wrong?" 

The sound of his voice thrilled me, and I couldn't answer. I couldn't stop staring at him. The force that had pulled me up here pulled me to him. I wanted him to touch me so badly, so badly I could barely stand it. He was so amazing. So unbelievably gorgeous. I knew somewhere something was wrong, but it didn't seem important. Not when I was with him. 

With almost a foot separating us, there was no way I could easily kiss his lips without his help. 

So instead, I aimed for his chest, wanting to taste that warm, smooth skin."Rose!" he exclaimed, stepping back. "What are you doing?""What do you think?"I moved toward him again, needing to touch him and kiss him and do so many other things.

Well Dad and Mom, where umm.. II just couldn't comprehend how mad they looked right now.

"Are you drunk?" he asked, holding his hand out in a warding gesture."Don't I wish." I tried to dodge around him, then paused, momentarily uncertain. "I thought you

wanted to—don't you think I'm pretty?" In all the time we'd known each other, in all the time 

this attraction had built, he'd never told me I was pretty. He'd hinted at it, but that wasn't the 

same.

"Seriosuly?" Adrian said.

"Aparently" Abe said through clenched teeth.

And despite all the assurances I had from other guys that I was hotness incarnate, I 

needed to hear it from the one guy I actually wanted. 

"Rose, I don't know what's going on, but you need to go back to your room." 

"Smart Dimitri. But Rosemarie, please tell me you went to you're room, and helped Lissa." Mom said.

"Ha, uhh Well." Was all I could say.

When I moved toward him again, he reached out and gripped my wrists. With that touch, an electric current shot through both of us, and I saw him forget whatever he'd just been worrying about. Something seized him too, something that made him suddenly want me as much I wanted him. 

Releasing my wrists, he moved his hands up my arms, sliding slowly along my skin. Holding 

me in his dark, hungry gaze, he pulled me to him, pressing me right up to his body. 

One of his hands moved up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair and tipping my 

face up to his. He brought his lips down, barely brushing them against , I asked again, "Do you think I'm pretty?"He regarded me with utter seriousness, like he always did. "I think you're beautiful.""Beautiful?""You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."

His lips moved to mine, gentle at first, and then hard and hungry. His kiss consumed me. 

"Dimitri!" Dad yelled.

Mom got up.

"She was seventeen!" She yelled at him.

I got up now.

"You both SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN! IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW ALREDY IT WAS VICTORS SPELL!" I yelled.

"Rose, it was still inappropriate." ABE SAID.

"Could we please stop yelling."

"He is my son after all." Olena said politely.

Dad backed down apologizing, but, my mom and I stood head to head glaring at each other.

"Roza." Dimitri said.

"Stop."

I sat back down and continued reading.

His hands on my arms slid down, down my hips, down to the edge of my dress. He gathered up the fabric in his hands and began pushing it up my legs. I melted into that touch, into his kiss and the way it burned against my mouth. His hands kept sliding up and up, until he'd pulled the dress over my head and tossed it on the floor. 

"You…you got rid of that dress fast," I pointed out between heavy breaths. "I thought you liked 

it.""I do like it," he said. His breathing was as heavy as mine. "I love it."

"I'm not listening lalalalaalalalala!" Viktoria said covering her ears.

Christian followed along with Dad, ahahahah!

"Ohh real mature guys." I said.

And then he took me to the bed.

"Want to spar after Dimitri?" Mom asked him.

Dimitri gulped.

Twenty-One 

I'D NEVER BEEN COMPLETELY NAKED 

"ARE YOU SHITTING ME! THAT'S THE VERY FIRST SENTEnce!" Christian yelled.

"I thought you weren't listening!" I said.

"I think we all want to stop listening." Mom clarified.

around a guy before. It scared the hell out of me—even though it excited me, too. Lying on the covers, we clung to each other and kept kissing—and kissing and kissing and kissing. His hands and lips took possession of my body, and every touch was like fire on my skin. 

I really don't want my parents listening to my love life.

After yearning for him for so long, I could barely believe this was happening. And while the physical stuff felt great, I also just liked being close to him. I liked the way he looked at me, like I was the sexiest, most wonderful thing in the world. I liked the way he would say my name in Russian, murmured like a prayer: Roza, Roza… 

And somewhere, somewhere in all of this, was that same urging voice that had driven me up to 

his room, a voice that didn't sound like my own but that I was powerless to ignore. Stay with 

him, stay with him. Don't think about anything else except him. Keep touching him. Forget 

about everything else. 

I listened—not that I really needed any extra convincing. 

The burning in his eyes told me he wanted to do a lot more than we were, but he took things slow, maybe because he knew I was nervous. His pajama pants stayed on. At one point, I shifted so that I hovered over him, my hair hanging around him. He tilted his head slightly, and I just barely caught sight of the back of his neck. I brushed my fingertips over the six tiny marks tattooed there. 

"Did you really kill six Strigoi?" 

Honestly Rose?" Adrian said.

"Shut" I said.

He nodded. "Wow." 

He brought my own neck down to his mouth and kissed me. His teeth gently grazed my skin, different from a vampire but every bit as thrilling. "Don't worry. You'll have a lot more than me someday." 

"Do you feel guilty about it?" 

"Hmm?" 

"Killing them. You said in the van that it was the right thing to do, but it still bothers you. It's 

why you go to church, isn't it? I see you there, but you aren't really into the services." 

He smiled, surprised and amused I'd guessed another secret about him. "How do you know these things? I'm not guilty exactly…just sad sometimes. All of them used to be human or dhampir or Moroi. It's a waste, that's all, but as I said before, it's something I have to do. Something we all have to do. Sometimes it bothers me, and the chapel is a good place to think about those kinds of things. Sometimes I find peace there, but not often. I find more peace with you." 

He rolled me off of him and moved on top of me again. The kissing picked up once more, 

harder this time. More urgent. Oh God, I thought. I'm finally going to do it. This is it. I can feel 

it. 

He must have seen the decision in my eyes. Smiling, 

"no…" Mom whined to herself.

"No. But If one of the books has, the only other person I was ever with like that before you are going to do some more beating up." I said, looking pointedly at Adrian.

he slid his hands behind my neck and 

unfastened Victor's necklace. 

He set it on the bedside table. As soon as the chain left his fingers, I felt like I'd been slapped in 

the face.

"Hey Jail Bait. You havent said anything in a while." Adrian said.

"Yeah, say something." I said.

"Uhh.. Um I don't know what to say." She said honestly.

"That's to bad." Adrian said and kissed her cheek.

I swear to god, her face went blood red.

I blinked in must have felt the same way. "What happened?" he asked."I—I don't know." I felt like I was trying to wake up, like I'd been asleep for two days. I needed

to remember something. 

Lissa. Something with Lissa. 

"Now you remember me." Lissa said smilling.

My head felt funny. Not pain or dizziness, but…the voice, I realized. The voice urging me toward Dimitri was gone. That wasn't to say I didn't want him anymore because hey, seeing him there in those sexy pajama bottoms, with that brown hair spilling over the side of face was pretty fine. But I no longer had that outside influence pushing me to him. Weird. 

He frowned, no longer turned on. After several moments of thought, he reached over and picked up the necklace. The instant his fingers touched it, I saw desire sweep over him again. He slid his other hand onto my hip, and suddenly, that burning lust slammed back into me. My 

stomach went queasy while my skin started to prickle and grow warm again. My breathing 

became heavy. His lips moved toward mine again. 

Some inner part of me fought through. 

"Lissa," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. "I have to tell you something about Lissa. But I 

can't…remember…I feel so strange…." 

"I know." Still holding onto me, he rested his cheek against my forehead. "There's something…something here…" He pulled his face away, and I opened my eyes. "This necklace. That's the one Prince Victor gave you?" 

I nodded and could see the sluggish thought process trying to wake up behind his eyes. Taking 

a deep breath, he removed his hand from my hip and pushed himself away. 

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed. "Come back…" 

He looked like he wanted to—very badly—but instead he climbed out of the bed. He and the necklace moved away from me. I felt like he'd ripped part of me away, but at the same time, I had that startling sensation of waking up, like I could think clearly once more without my body making all the decisions. 

On the other hand, Dimitri still wore a look of animal passion on him, and it seemed to take a great deal of effort for him to walk across the room. He reached the window and managed to open it one-handed. Cold air blasted in, and I rubbed my hands over my arms for warmth. 

"What are you going to—?" The answer hit me, and I sprang out of bed, just as the necklace 

flew out the window. "No! Do you know how much that must have—?" 

"At this point Rose, I really don't care how much that costs As long as you two are done-" My mom was going to continue but I cut her off.

"Don't even finish that sentence." I was completely embarrassed, I mean come on! My other Family and Friends were here! You don't have this conversation right in front of them.

"Rose all I was saying was-" I cut her off again.

"SHUSH!" I yelled at her, and then we started yelling at each other.

I heard someone yelling my name but I couldn't stop, I think the shdow kissed affects were taking over me again and I was more mad then I should be.

"ROSE!" Dimitri's stern voice yelled. I know he knew.

I turned around and looked at him.

"Roza. You need to calm down. Shhhh everything is okay." Dimitri tried calming me down. I felt my over anger falling away.

"Shh, you are okay." Dimitri said.

"What just happened to her?" Abe asked.

"A shdow kissed afeect." Lissa sighed.

"A wha?" Abe said.

"Since Rose is my shadow kissed partner, the spirits darkness goes into her, and gets angry like that. Only Dimitri can calm her down." Lissa said.

"Then what happens to Lord Ivashkovs Darkness?" Mom asked.

"I drink and Smoke so it doesn't get at me." Adrian said.

"That explains a lot." Olena said.

"Yes. For me to. I'm sorry Rose." Viktoria said.

"No problem." I accepted.

I felt like crying but I was over it, I needed to read.

The necklace disappeared, and I no longer felt like I waswaking up. Iwas awake. Painfully, 

startlingly so.I took in my surroundings. Dimitri's room. Me naked. The rumpled all that was nothing compared to what hit me next.

"Lissa!" I gasped out. It all came back, the memories and the emotions. And, in fact, her held- back emotions suddenly poured into me—at staggering levels. More terror. Intense terror. Those feelings wanted to suck me back into her body, but I couldn't let them. Not quite yet. I fought against her, needing to stay here. With the words coming out in a rush, I told Dimitri everything that had happened. 

He was in motion before I finished, putting on clothes and looking every bit like a badass god. Ordering me to get dressed, he tossed me a sweatshirt with Cyrillic writing on it to wear over the skimpy dress. 

I still have that sweater if anyone cares.

I had a hard time following him downstairs; he made no effort to slow for me this time. Calls were made when we got there. Orders shouted. Before long, I ended up in the guardians' main office with him. Kirova and other teachers were there. Most of the campus's guardians. Everyone seemed to speak at once. All the while, I felt Lissa's fear, felt her moving farther and farther away. 

I yelled at them to hurry up and do something, but no one except Dimitri would believe my story about her abduction until someone retrieved Christian from the chapel and then verified Lissa really wasn't on campus. 

Christian staggered in, supported by two guardians. Dr. Olendzki appeared shortly thereafter, 

checking him out and wiping blood away from the back of his , I thought, something would happen."How many Strigoi were there?" one of the guardians asked me."How in the world did they get in?" muttered someone else.I stared. "Wh—? There weren't any Strigoi."

Several sets of eyes stared at me. "Who else would have taken her?" asked Ms. Kirova primly. 

"You must have seen it wrong through the…vision." 

"No. I'm positive. It was…they were…guardians." 

"She's right," mumbled Christian, still under the doctor's ministrations. He winced as she did 

something to the back of his head. "Guardians." 

"That's impossible," someone said. 

"They weren't school guardians." I rubbed my forehead, fighting hard to keep from leaving the conversation and going back to Lissa. My irritation grew. "Will you guys get moving? She's getting farther away!" 

"You're saying a group of privately retained guardians came in and kidnapped her?" The tone in 

Kirova's voice implied I was playing some kind of joke. 

"Yes," I replied through gritted teeth. "They…" 

Slowly, carefully, I slipped my mental restraint and flew into Lissa's body. I sat in a car, an expensive car with tinted windows to keep out most of the light. It might be "night" here, but it was full day for the rest of the world. One of the guardians from the chapel drove; another sat beside him in the front—one I recognized. Spiridon. In the back, Lissa sat with tied hands, another guardian beside her, and on the other side— 

"They work for Victor Dashkov," I gasped out, focusing back on Kirova and the others. 

"They're his." 

"Prince Victor Dashkov?" asked one of the guardians with a snort. Like there was any other 

freaking Victor Dashkov.

Some people gasped. Jill especially.

"Please," I moaned, hands clutching my head. "Do something. They're getting so far away. They're on…" A brief image, seen outside the car window, flared in my vision. "Eighty-three. Headed south." 

"Eighty-three already? How long ago did they leave? Why didn't you come sooner?" 

My eyes turned anxiously to Dimitri. 

"A compulsion spell," he said slowly. "A compulsion spell put into a necklace he gave her. It 

made her attack me." 

"Nice." Abe said, sarcastically.

"No one can use that kind of compulsion," exclaimed Kirova. "No one's done that in ages." 

"Well, someone did. By the time I'd restrained her and taken the necklace, a lot of time had 

passed," Dimitri continued, face perfectly controlled. No one questioned the story. 

Thank God.

Finally, finally, the group moved into action. No one wanted to bring me, but Dimitri insisted when he realized I could lead them to her. Three details of guardians set out in sinister black SUVs. I rode in the first one, sitting in the passenger seat while Dimitri drove. Minutes passed. The only times we spoke was when I gave a report. 

"They're still on Eighty-three…but their turn is coming. They aren't speeding. They don't want 

to get pulled over." 

He nodded, not looking at me. He most definitelywas speeding. 

Giving him a sidelong glance, I replayed tonight's earlier events. In my mind's eye, I could see 

it all again, the way he'd looked at me and kissed me. 

But what had it been? An illusion? A trick? On the way to the car, he'd told me there really had been a compulsion spell in the necklace, a lust one. I had never heard of such a thing, but when I'd asked for more information, he just said it was a type of magic earth users once practiced but never did anymore. 

"They're turning," I said suddenly. "I can't see the road name, but I'll know when we're close."Dimitri grunted in acknowledgment, and I sank further into my had it all meant? Had it meant anything to him? It had definitely meant a lot to me.

"There," I said about twenty minutes later, indicating the rough road Victor's car had turned off 

on. It was unpaved gravel, and the SUV gave us an edge over his luxury car. 

We drove on in silence, the only sound coming from the crunching of the gravel under the tires. 

Dust kicked up outside the windows, swirling around us. 

"They're turning again." 

Farther and farther off the main routes they went, and we followed the whole time, led by my 

instructions. Finally, I felt Victor's car come to a stop."They're outside a small cabin," I said. "They're taking her—""Why are you doing this? What's going on?"Lissa. Cringing and scared. Her feelings had pulled me into her.

"Come, child," said Victor, moving into the cabin, unsteady on his cane. One of his guardians held the door open. Another pushed Lissa along and settled her into a chair near a small table inside. It was cold in here, especially in the pink dress. Victor sat across from her. When she started to get up, a guardian gave her a warning look. "Do you think I'd seriously hurt you?" 

"Yes." Lissa and I Said inusion.

But everyone was being eerily quiet, I guess everyone wanted to hear this story.

"What did you do to Christian?" she cried, ignoring the question. "Is he dead? 

"The Ozera boy? I didn't mean for that to happen. We didn't expect him to be there. We'd hoped to catch you alone, to convince others you'd run away again. We'd made sure rumors already circulated about that." 

We? I recalled how the stories had resurfaced this week…from Natalie. 

"Now?" He sighed, spreading his hands wide in a helpless gesture. "I don't know. I doubt anyone will connect it to us, even if they don't believe you ran away. Rose is the biggest liability. We'd intended to…dispatch her, letting others think she'd run away as well. The spectacle she created at your dance made that impossible, but I had another plan in place to make sure she stays occupied for some time…probably until tomorrow. We will have to contend with her later." 

He hadn't counted on Dimitri figuring out the spell. He'd figured we'd be too busy getting it on 

all night."Why?" asked Lissa. "Why are you doing all this?"His green eyes widened, reminding her of her father's.

**REVIEW!**

**PLEASE! You have no idea how long it took me to write all of this (L)**


	6. Chapter 6 Spirit Bound

**Okay, so I know some of u were expecting the cabin scene, but my friend has my books and I can't find the book online scribd is being retarded. So here is the Adrian/Rose scene I figured it would be funny.**

"Adrian's turn to read." I announced.

"Fine." He huffed.

I DIDN'T WANT TO SEE anyone after that. I trekked back to my room as quickly as I could, hardly noticing the obstacles and people in my path. Over and over, Dimitri's words played in my head: Love fades. Mine has. Somehow, that was the worst thing he could have said. Don't get me wrong: The rest wasn't easy either. Having him tell me he was going to avoid me and ignore our past relationship made me feel awful too. Yet, within that, no matter how much it hurt, was the tiny hope that there was still some spark of love between us. That he still loved me. But . . . love fades.

"That is just horrible." Olena said.

"I was to upset, about what had happened in Russia, I didn't want to hurt her more." Dimitri said.

'Well does she sound like a fricken ray of sunshine?" Abe said.

That was something else altogether. It meant that what we had would die, going pale until it crumbled and drifted away like dried up leaves in the wind. The thought of it caused a pain in my chest and stomach, and I curled up on my bed, wrapping my arms around myself as though that might lessen the hurt. I couldn't accept what he had said. I couldn't accept that somehow, after his ordeal, his love for me had gone away.I wanted to stay in my room for the rest of the day, curled up in the darkness of my covers. I forgot about Sydney's conversation and my earlier concerns about Lissa's dad. I even let go of Lissa herself. She had a few errands today, but every so often, a message would flit to me through the bond: Come join me?When I didn't contact her, she began to grow worried. I was suddenly afraid that she-or someone else-might come seeking me in my room. So I decided to leave. I had no real destination; I just had to keep moving. I walked around the Court, scouting places I'd never seen before. It was filled with more statues and fountains than I'd realized. Their beauty was lost on me, though, and when I returned to my room hours later, I was exhausted from all the walking. Oh well. At least I'd dodged having to talk to had I? It was late, past my usual bedtime, when a knock came at my door. I was hesitant to answer. Who would be coming by so late? Did I want the distraction or did I want to keep my solitude? I had no idea who it could be, save that it wasn't Lissa. God. For all I knew, it was Hans, demanding to know why I hadn't been showing up for my work detail. After much thinking (and more persistent knocking), I decided to open was Adrian.

"great." mom huffed.

"Ohh shush." I told her.

Little dhampir," he said with a small, weary smile. "You look like you've seen a ghost."Not a ghost, exactly. Believe me, I knew ghosts when I saw them. "I just . . . I just didn't really expect to see you after this morning. . . ."He entered and sat down on my bed, and I was glad to see he'd cleaned up since our earlier talk. He wore fresh clothes, and his hair was back to its normal perfection. I still caught the lingering scent of cloves, but after what I'd put him through, he was entitled to his vices.

"I am so sorry for everything I put you through." I told Adrian sincerely.

'Don't worry about it." Adrian said.

"I probably will." I whispered to myself.

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect to come by either," he admitted. "But you . . . well . . . you got me thinking about something."I sat down beside him, keeping a healthy distance. "Us?""No. Lissa.""Oh." I'd accused Dimitri of being egotistic, but here I was, naturally assuming love for me was all that could have driven Adrian green eyes turned speculative. 

"Just a little concideed." Lissa said.

"I know." I huffed.

"I kept thinking about what you'd said, about her dad. And you were right-right about the gambling thing. He'd have the money to pay off any debt. He wouldn't have had to keep it a secret. So I went and asked my mom.""What?" I exclaimed. "No one's supposed to know that-""Yeah, yeah, I figured your information had been top secret. Don't worry. I told her that when we were in Vegas, we heard some people talking about it-about Lissa's dad making secret deposits.""What'd she say?""The same thing I did. Well, actually, she snapped at me first. She said Eric Dragomir was a good man and that I shouldn't spread rumors about the dead. She suggested that maybe he had a gambling problem, but if so, people shouldn't focus on that, when he did so many great things. After the Death Watch, I think she's afraid of me causing more public scenes.""She's right. About Eric," I said. Maybe someone had stolen those records as some part of a slander campaign. Admittedly, spreading rumors about the dead was pointless, but maybe someone wanted to blacken the Dragomir reputation and get rid of any chance of the voting law being changed for Lissa? I was about to say as much to Adrian when he interrupted with something even more shocking."And then my dad overheard us, and he was like, 'He was probably funding some mistress. You're right-he was a nice guy. But he liked to flirt. And he liked the ladies.'" Adrian rolled his eyes. "That's a direct quote: 'He liked the ladies.' My dad is such an ass. He sounds twice his age."I gripped Adrian's arm without realizing it. "What did he say after that?"

Adrian shrugged but left my hand where it was. "Nothing. My mom got mad and said the same thing to him that she said to me, that it was cruel to spread stories no one could prove."

"You know I get it now. She was really defensive. She was protecting herself from your dad. You really are Lissa's Brother." Christian said.

"Do you think it's true? Do you think Lissa's dad had a mistress? Was that what he was paying out for?""Don't know, little dhampir. Honestly? My dad's the type who would jump on any rumor he could. Or make one up. I mean, we know Lissa's dad liked to party. It's easy to jump to conclusions from there. Probably he had some dirty secret. Hell, we all do. Maybe whoever stole those files just wanted to exploit that."I told him my theory about it being used against Lissa. "Or," I said, reconsidering, "maybe someone who supports her took it. So that it wouldn't get out."Adrian nodded. "Either way, I don't think Lissa's in mortal danger."He started to rise, and I pulled him back. "Adrian, wait . . . I . . ." I swallowed. "I wanted to apologize. The way I've been treating you, what I've been doing . . . it wasn't fair to you. I'm sorry."He looked away from me, eyes focused on the ground. "You can't help the way you feel.""The thing is . . . I don't know how I feel. And that sounds stupid, but it's the truth. I care about Dimitri. I was stupid to think I'd be unaffected by him being back. But I realize now . . ." Love fades. Mine has. "I realize now that it's over with him. I'm not saying that's easy to get past. It'll take a while, and I'd be lying to both of us if I said it wouldn't." 

I saw the hurt in his eye's. Dimitri and Adrians. But It was Dimitri's own damn fault. And It was my fault for hurting Adrian.

"That makes sense," Adrian said."It does?"He glanced at me, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Yes, little dhampir. Sometimes you make sense. Go on.""I . . . well, like I said . . . I've got to heal from him. But I do care about you. . . . I think I even love you a little." That got a small smile. "I want to try again. I really do. I like having you in my life, but I may have jumped into things too soon before. You don't have any reason to want me after the way I've dragged you around, but if you want to get together again, then I want to."He studied me for a long time, and my breath caught. I'd meant what I said: He had every right to end things with us . . . and yet, the thought that he might terrified last, he pulled me against him and lay back against the bed. "Rose, I have all sorts of reasons to want you. I haven't been able to stay away from you since I saw you at the ski lodge."

I shifted closer to Adrian on the bed and pressed my head against his chest. "We can make this work. I know we can. If I screw up again, you can leave.""If only it were that easy," he laughed. "You forget: I have an addictive personality. I'm addicted to you. Somehow I think you could do all sorts of bad things to me, and I'd still come back to you. Just keep things honest, okay? Tell me what you're feeling. If you're feeling something for Dimitri that's confusing you, tell me. We'll work it out."

I couldn't help myself, I got up and hugged Adrian. "I'm sorry." I whispered.

He hugged me back. 'Little Dhampir, It is all fine. You have you're Love now I have to find mine. I think I might of." He said winking at me and looking at Jill.

I wanted to tell him that-regardless of my feelings-he had nothing to worry about with Dimitri because Dimitri had rejected me a number of times now. I could chase after Dimitri all I wanted, and it wouldn't do any good. Love fades. Those words still stung, and I couldn't bear to give voice to that pain. But as Adrian held me and I thought about how understanding he was about all of this, some wounded part of me acknowledged that the opposite was true as well: Love grows. I would try with him. I really would. I sighed. "You're not supposed to be this wise. You're supposed to be shallow and unreasonable and . . . and . . ."He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "And?""Mmm . . . ridiculous.""Ridiculous I can manage. And the others . . . but only on special occasions."

Everyone laughed at this.

We were wrapped close together now, and I tilted my head to study him, the high cheekbones and artfully messy hair that made him so gorgeous. I remembered his mother's words, that regardless of what we wanted, he and I would eventually have to part ways. Maybe this was how my life was going to be. I'd always lose the men I loved.I pulled him hard against me, kissing his mouth with a force that caught even him by surprise. If I had learned anything about life and love, it was that they were tenuous things that could end at any moment. Caution was essential-but not at the cost of wasting your life. I decided I wasn't going to waste it hands were already tugging at Adrian's shirt before that thought was fully formed. He didn't question it or hesitate in taking my clothes off in return. 

Mom and Abe and Dimitri were glaring at Adrian, He smirked and kept reading.

He might have moments of profoundness and understanding, but he was still . . . well, Adrian. Adrian lived his life in the now, doing the things he wanted without much second-guessing. And he had wanted me for a very long was also very good at this sort of thing, which was why my clothes came off faster than his. His lips were hot and eager against my throat, but he was careful to never once let his fangs brush my skin. I was a little less 

gentle, surprising myself when I dug my nails into the bare skin of his back. His lips moved lower, tracing the line of my collarbone while he deftly took off my bra one-handed.

"Rose. Why is this book so descriptive, I don't need to hear My daughters love life." Abe said.

"I didn't write the damn book." I told him.

I was a little astonished at my body's reaction as we both fought to get the other's jeans off first. I'd convinced myself that I'd never want sex again after Dimitri, but right now? Oh, I wanted it. Maybe it was some psychological reaction to Dimitri's rejection. Maybe it was an impulse to live for the moment. Maybe it was love for Adrian. Or maybe it was just it was, it made me powerless beneath his hands and mouth, which seemed intent on exploring every part of me.

"Rose whats with you, and older guys?" Mia asked, smirking.

'Same thing as you." I smiled knowing Eddie was only ayear older, but their Age difference was a lot on the outside.

Dimitri and My dad looked like it was taking every ounce not to kill or in my dads case break adrians knees.

The only time he paused was when all my clothes were finally off and I lay there naked with him. He was almost naked too, but I hadn't quite gotten to his boxers yet. (They were silk because, honestly, what else would Adrian wear?). 

"That or nothing." Adrian smiled.

Jill blushed.

He cupped my face in his hands, his eyes filled with intensity and desire-and a bit of wonder."What are you, Rose Hathaway? Are you real? You're a dream within a dream. I'm afraid touching you will make me wake up. You'll disappear." I recognized a little of the poetic trance he sometimes fell into, the spells that made me wonder if he was catching a little of the spirit-induced madness."Touch me and find out," I said, drawing him to didn't hesitate again. The last of his clothes came off, and my whole body heated at the feel of his skin and the way his hands slid over me. My physical needs were rapidly trampling over any logic and reason. There was no thought, just us, and the fierce urgency bringing us together. I was all burning need and desire and sensation and-"Oh, shit."

"Finally." Mom said.

It came out as kind of a mumble since we'd been kissing, our lips eagerly seeking out the other's. With guardian reflexes, I barely managed to shift away, just as our hips started to come together. Losing the feel of him was shocking to me, more so for him. He was stunned, simply staring in astonishment as I wriggled further from him and finally managed a sitting position on the bed."What . . . what's wrong? Did you change your mind?""We need protection first," I said. "Do you have any condoms?"He processed this for a few seconds and then sighed. "Rose, only you would pick this instant to remember that."That was a fair point. My timing kind of sucked. Still, it was better than remembering it afterward. In spite of my body's rampant desire-and it was still there, believe me-I suddenly had a startling, vivid image of Dimitri's sister Karolina. I'd met her in Siberia, and she'd had a baby that was about six months old. The baby was adorable, as babies often are, but by God, she had been so much work. Karolina had a waitressing job, and as soon as she was home from that, her attention went to the baby. When she was at work, Dimitri's mother took care of the baby. And the baby always needed something: food, changing, rescue from choking on a small object. His sister Sonya had been on the verge of having a baby too, and with the way I'd left things with his youngest sister, Viktoria, I wouldn't be surprised to find she was pregnant before long. Huge life changes made from small, careless actions. So I was pretty confident I didn't want a baby in my life right now, not this young. With Dimitri, it hadn't been a concern, thanks to dhampir infertility. With Adrian? It was an issue, as was the fact that while disease was rare among both our races, I wasn't the first girl Adrian had been with. Or the second. Or the third . . ."So do you have any?" I asked impatiently. Just because I was in responsible mode, it didn't mean I wanted sex any less."Yes," said Adrian, sitting up as well. "Back in my bedroom."

Mom and dad looked victorious an happy.

'Shut up." I told them .

"Not a word." I said.

We stared at each other. His bedroom was far away, over in the Moroi section of slid nearer, putting his arm around me and nibbling my earlobe. "The odds of anything bad happening are pretty low."I closed my eyes and tipped my head back against him. He wrapped his hands around my hips and stroked my skin. "What are you, a doctor?" I laughed softly, his mouth kissing the spot just behind my ear. "No. I'm just someone willing to take a risk. You can't tell me you don't want this."I opened my eyes and pulled away so that I could look at him directly. He was right. I did want this. Very, very badly. And the part of me-which was pretty much all of me-that burned with lust was attempting to win me over. The odds probably were low, right? Weren't there people who tried forever to get pregnant and couldn't? My desire had an okay argument, so it was kind of a surprise when my logic won."I can't take the risk," I said. Now Adrian studied me, and at last, he nodded. "Okay. Another time then. Tonight we'll be . . . responsible.""That's all you're going to say?"He frowned. "What else would I say? You said no."

"Nice. Ivashkov. At least you have some manners." Mom said.

'Well I may sleep around, but I would never force it." he defended himself.

'good." Abe said.

"But you . . . you could have compelled me."Now he was really astonished. "Do you want me to compel you?" "No. Of course not. It just occurred to me that . . . well, that you could have."Adrian cupped my face in his hands. "Rose, I cheat at cards and buy liquor for minors. 

"YOU BUY LIQUPR FO MINORS!" Olena gasped.

"Olena, honestly does this surprise you?' I said.

But I would never, ever force you into something you don't want. Certainly not this-"His words were cut off because I'd pressed myself against him and started kissing him again. Surprise must have kept him from doing anything right away, but soon, he pushed me away with what seemed like great reluctance."Little dhampir," he said dryly, "if you want to be responsible, this is not a good way to do it.""We don't have to let this go. And we can be responsible." "All of those stories are-"He came screeching to a halt when I tossed my hair out of the way and offered my neck to him. I managed to turn slightly so that I could meet his eyes, but I said nothing. I didn't have to. The invitation was obvious."Rose . . ." he said uncertainly-though I could see the longing spring up in his blood wasn't the same as sex, but it was a yearning all vampires had, and doing it while aroused-so I'd heard-was a mind-blowing experience. It was also taboo and hardly ever done, so people claimed. It was where the definition of blood whore had originated: dhampirs who gave their blood during sex. The idea of dhampirs yielding blood at all was considered disgraceful, but I'd done it before: with Lissa when she needed food and with Dimitri when he'd been Strigoi. And it had been tried again, his voice steadier this time. "Rose, do you know what you're asking?""Yes," I said firmly. I gently ran a finger along his lips and then slipped in to touch his fangs. I threw his own words back at him. "You can't tell me you don't want this."He did want it. In a heartbeat, his mouth was at my neck and his fangs were piercing my skin. I cried out at the sudden pain, a sound that softened to a moan as the endorphins that came with every vampire bite flooded into me. An exquisite bliss consumed me. He pulled me hard against him as he drank, almost onto his lap, pressing my back against his chest. I was distantly aware of his hands all over me again, of his lips upon my throat. Mostly, all I knew was that I was drowning in pure, ecstatic sweetness. The perfect he pulled away, it was like losing part of myself. Like being incomplete. Confused, needing him back, I reached for him. He gently pushed my hand away, smiling as he licked his lips."Careful, little dhampir. I went longer than I should have. You could probably grow wings and fly off right now."It actually didn't sound like a bad idea. In a few more moments, though, the intense, crazy part of the high faded, and I settled back to myself. I still felt wonderful and dizzy; the endorphins had fed my body's desire. My reasoning slowly came back to me, allowing (kind of) coherent thought to penetrate that happy haze. When Adrian was convinced I was sober enough, he relaxed and lay down on the bed. I joined him a moment later, curling up against his side. He seemed as content as I was."That," he mused, "was the best not-sex ever."My only response was a sleepy smile. It was late, and the more I crashed down from the endorphin rush, the drowsier I felt. Some tiny part of me said that even though I'd wanted this and cared about Adrian, the whole act had been wrong. I hadn't done it for the right reasons, instead letting myself get carried away by my own grief and rest of me decided that wasn't true, and the nagging voice soon faded into exhaustion. I fell asleep against Adrian, getting the best night of sleep I'd had in a long time.I wasn't entirely surprised that I was able to get out of bed, shower, get dressed, and even blow-dry my hair without Adrian waking up. My friends and I had spent many a morning trying to drag him out of bed in the past. Hungover or sober, he was a heavy sleeper.

"Do remember that time?' I asked Lissa.

"That was fuuny." She giggled.

I spent more time on my hair than I had in a while. The telltale mark of a vampire bite was fresh on my neck. So I wore my hair down, careful to style it with a part so that the long waves hung heavy on the bite side. Satisfied the bruise would stay camouflaged, I pondered what to do next. In an hour or so, the Council was going to listen to arguments from factions with varying ideas on the new age decree, Moroi fighting, and the Dragomir vote. Provided they let me in the hall, I had no intention of missing the debates on the hottest issues in our world right now.I didn't want to wake up Adrian, though. He was tangled up in my sheets and slept peacefully. If I woke him up, I'd feel obligated to stick around while he got ready. Through the bond, I felt Lissa sitting alone at a cafe table. I wanted to see her and have breakfast, so I decided Adrian could fend for himself. I left him a note about where I was, told him the door would lock on his way out, and drew lots of x's and o's. When I was halfway to the cafe, though, I sensed something that ruined my breakfast plan. Christian had sat down with Lissa.

"Well, well," I muttered. With everything else going on, I hadn't paid much attention to Lissa's personal life. After what had happened at the warehouse, I wasn't entirely surprised to see them together, though her feelings told me there had been no romantic reconciliation . . . yet. This was an uneasy attempt at friendship, a chance to get over their constant jealousy and be it from me to intrude on love at work. I knew another place near the guardians' buildings that also had coffee and doughnuts. It would do, provided no one there remembered that I was technically still on probation and had made a scene in a royal odds on that probably weren't , I decided to give it a try and headed over, eyeing the overcast sky uneasily. Rain wouldn't help my mood any. When I got to the cafe, I discovered I didn't have to worry about anyone paying attention to me. There was a bigger draw: was out with his personal guard, and even though I was glad he had some freedom, the attitude that he needed close watching still angered me. At least there was no giant crowd today. People who came in for breakfast couldn't help but stare, but few lingered. He had five guardians with him this time, which was a significant reduction. That was a good sign. He sat alone at a table, coffee and a half-eaten glazed doughnut in front of him. He was reading a paperback novel that I would have bet my life was a one sat with him. His escort simply maintained a ring of protection, a couple near the walls, one at the entrance, and two at nearby tables. The security seemed pointless. Dimitri was completely engrossed in his book, oblivious to the guards and occasional spectators-or he was simply making a good show of not caring. He seemed very harmless, but Adrian's words came back to me. Was there any Strigoi left in him? Some dark part? Dimitri himself claimed he still carried the piece that prevented him from ever truly loving and I had always had this uncanny awareness of each other. In a crowded room, I could always find him. And in spite of his preoccupation with the book, he looked up when I walked toward the cafe's counter. Our eyes met for a millisecond. There was no expression on his face . . . and yet, I had the feeling he was waiting for , I realized with a start. Despite everything, despite our fight in the church . . . he still thought I would pursue and make some pledge of my love. Why? Did he just expect me to be that unreasonable? Or was it possible . . . was it possible he wanted me to approach him?

Well, whatever the reason, I decided I wouldn't give it to him. He'd hurt me too many times already. He'd told me to stay away, and if that was all part of some elaborate game to toy with my feelings, I wasn't going to play. I gave him a haughty look and turned away sharply as I walked up to the counter. I ordered chai and a chocolate eclair. After a moment's consideration, I ordered a second eclair. I had a feeling it was going to be one of those plan had been to eat outside, but as I glanced toward the tinted windows, I could just barely make out the pattern of raindrops hitting the panes. Damn. I briefly considered fighting the weather and going somewhere else with my food, but I decided I wasn't going to let Dimitri scare me off. Spying a table far from him, I headed toward it, going out of my way not to look at or acknowledge him."Hey Rose. Are you going to the Council today?"I came to a halt. One of Dimitri's guardians had spoken, giving me a friendly smile as he did. I couldn't recall the guy's name, but he'd seemed nice whenever we passed each other. I didn't want to be rude, and so, reluctantly, I answered back-even though it meant staying near Dimitri."Yup," I said, making sure my attention was only on the guardian. "Just grabbing a bite before I do.""Are they going to let you in?" asked another of the guardians. He too was smiling. For a moment, I thought they were mocking my last outburst. But no . . . that wasn't it. Their faces showed approval."That's an excellent question," I admitted. I took a bite of my eclair. "But I figure I should give it a try. I'll also try to be on good behavior."The first guardian chuckled. "I certainly hope not. That group deserves all the grief you can give them over that stupid age law." The other guardians nodded."What age law?" asked , I looked over at him. As always, he swept my breath away. Stop it, Rose, I scolded myself. You're mad at him, remember? And now you've chosen Adrian."The decree where royals think sending sixteen-year-old dhampirs out to fight Strigoi is the same as sending eighteen-year-olds," I said. I took another 's head shot up so quickly, I nearly choked on my food. "Which sixteen-year-olds are fighting Strigoi?" His guardians tensed but did nothing took me a moment to get the bite of eclair down. When I could finally speak, I was almost afraid to. "That's the decree. Dhampirs graduate when they're sixteen now.""When did this happen?" he demanded."Just the other day. No one told you?" I glanced over at the other guardians. One of them shrugged. I had the impression that they might believe Dimitri was truly a dhampir but that they weren't ready to get chatty with him. His only other social contact would have been Lissa and his interrogators."No." Dimitri's brow furrowed as he pondered the news.I ate my eclair in silence, hoping it would push him to talk more. It did."That's insane," he said. "Morality aside, they aren't ready that young. It's suicide.""I know. Tasha gave a really good argument against it. I did too."Dimitri gave me a suspicious look at that last part, particularly when a couple of his guardians smiled."Was it a close vote?" he asked. He spoke to me interrogation style, in the serious and focused way that had so defined him as a guardian. It was a lot better than depression, I decided. It was also better than him telling me to go away."Very close. If Lissa could have voted, it wouldn't have passed.""Ah," he said, playing with the edges of his coffee cup. "The quorum.""You know about that?" I asked in surprise."It's an old Moroi law.""So I hear.""What's the opposition trying to do? Sway the Council back or get Lissa the Dragomir vote?""Both. And other things."He shook his head, tucking some hair behind his ear. "They can't do that. They need to pick one cause and throw their weight behind it. Lissa's the smartest choice. The Council needs the Dragomirs back, and I've seen the way people look at her when they put me on display." Only the slightest edge of bitterness laced his words, indicating how he felt about that. Then it was back to business. "It wouldn't be hard to get support for that-if they don't divide their efforts."I started in on my second eclair, forgetting about my earlier resolution to ignore him. I didn't want to distract him from the topic. It was the first thing that had brought the old fire back to his eyes, the only thing he seemed truly interested in-well, aside from pledging lifelong devotion to Lissa and telling me to stay out of his life. I liked this was the same Dimitri from long ago, the fierce one who was willing to risk his life for what was right. I almost wished he'd go back to being annoying, distant Dimitri, the one who told me to stay away. Seeing him now brought back too many memories-not to mention the attraction I thought I'd smashed. Now, with that passion all over him, he seemed sexier than ever. He'd worn that same intensity when we'd fought together. Even when we'd had sex. This was the way Dimitri was supposed to be: powerful and in charge. I was glad and yet . . . seeing him the way I loved only made my heart feel that much worse. He was lost to Dimitri guessed my feelings, he didn't show it. He looked squarely at me, and, like always, the power of that gaze wrapped around me. "The next time you see Tasha, will you send her to me? We need to talk about this.""So, Tasha can be your friend, but not me?" The sharp words were out before I could stop them.

"Aparently." Viktoria sniede.

I flushed, embarrassed that I'd lapsed in front of the other guardians. Dimitri apparently didn't want an audience either. He looked up at the one who had initially addressed me."Is there any way we could have some privacy?"His escort exchanged looks, and then, almost as one being, they stepped back. It wasn't a considerable distance, and they still maintained a ring around Dimitri. Nonetheless, it was enough that all of our conversation wouldn't be overheard. Dimitri turned back to me. I sat down."You and Tasha have completely different situations. She can safely be in my life. You can't.""And yet," I said with an angry toss of my hair, "it's apparently okay for me to be in your life when it's convenient-say, like, running errands or passing messages.""It doesn't really seem like you need me in your life," he noted dryly, inclining his head slightly toward my right took me a moment to grasp what had happened. In tossing my hair, I'd exposed my neck-and the bite. I tried not to blush again, knowing I had nothing to feel embarrassed about. I pushed the hair back."That's none of your business," I hissed, hoping the other guardians hadn't seen."Exactly." He sounded triumphant. "Because you need to live your own life, far away from me.""Oh, for God's sake," I exclaimed. "Will you stop with the-"My eyes lifted from his face because an army suddenly descended upon , it wasn't exactly an army, but it might as well have been. One 

minute it was just Dimitri, me, and his security, and then suddenly-the room was swarming with guardians. And not just any guardians. They wore the black-and-white outfits guardians often did for formal occasions, but a small red button on their collars marked them as guardians specifically attached to the queen's guard. There had to be at least twenty of were lethal and deadly, the best of the best. Throughout history, assassins who had attacked monarchs had found themselves quickly taken down by the royal guard. They were walking death-and they were all gathering around us. Dimitri and I both shot up, unsure what was happening but certain the threat here was directed at us. His table and its chairs were between us, but we still immediately fell into the standard fighting stance when surrounded by enemies: Go 's security wore ordinary clothing and seemed a bit astonished to see their brethren, but with guardian efficiency, the escort promptly joined the advancing queen's guard. There were no more smiles or jokes. I wanted to throw myself in front of Dimitri, but in this situation, it was kind of difficult."You need to come with us right now," one of the queen's guards said. "If you resist, we'll take you by force.""Leave him alone!" I yelled, looking from face to face. That angry darkness exploded within me. How could they still not believe? Why were they still coming after him? "He hasn't done anything! Why can't you guys accept that he's really a dhampir now?"The man who'd spoken arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't talking to him." "You're . . . you're here for me?" I asked.

'Well Shit." jill said.

'language." Adrian said.

"Coming from u?' I asked.

"yes." He smirked.

I tried to think of any new spectacles I might have caused recently. I considered the crazy idea that the queen had found out I'd spent the night with Adrian and was pissed off about it. That was hardly enough to send the palace guard for me, though . . . or was it? Had I really gone too far with my antics?"What for?" demanded Dimitri. That tall, wonderful body of his-the one that could be so sensual sometimes-was filled with tension and menace man kept his gaze on me, ignoring Dimitri. "Don't make me repeat myself: Come with us quietly, or we will make you." The glimmer of handcuffs showed in his eyes went wide. "That's crazy! I'm not going anywhere until you tell me how the hell this-"That was the point at which they apparently decided I wasn't coming quietly. Two of the royal guardians lunged for me, and even though we technically worked for the same side, my instincts kicked in. I didn'tunderstand anything here except that I would not be dragged away like some kind of master criminal. I shoved the chair I'd been sitting in earlier at one of the guardians and aimed a punch at the other. It was a sloppy throw, made worse because he was taller than me. That height difference allowed me to dodge his next grab, and when I kicked hard at his legs, a small grunt told me I'd hit home. I heard a few scattered screams. The people working at the cafe ducked behind their counter like they expected automatic weapons to come out. The other patrons who'd been eating breakfast hurriedly sprang from their tables, heedlessly knocking over food and dishes. They ran for the exits-exits that were blocked by still more guardians. This brought more screams, even though the exits were being cut off because of , other guardians were joining the fray. Although I got a couple of good punches in, I knew the numbers were too overwhelming. One guardian caught hold of my arm and began trying to put the cuffs on me. He stopped when another set of hands grabbed me from the other side and jerked me ."Don't touch her," he growled.

"true love doesn't fade." Olena whispered so low I barely heard her.

There was a note in his voice that would have scared me if it had been directed toward me. He shoved me behind him, putting his body protectively in front of mine with my back to the table. Guardians came at us from all directions, and Dimitri began dispatching them with the same deadly grace that had once made people call him a god. He didn't kill any of the ones he fought, but he made sure they were out of action. If anyone thought his ordeals as a Strigoi or being locked up had diminished his fighting ability, they were terribly mistaken. Dimitri was a force of nature, managing to take on both impossible odds and stop me each time I tried to join the fight. The queen's guards might have been the best of the best, but Dimitri . . . well, my former lover and instructor was in a category all his own. His fighting skills were beyond anyone else's, and he was using them all in defense of me."Stay back," he ordered me. "They aren't laying a hand on you."At first, I was overwhelmed by his protectiveness-even though I hated not being part of a fight. Watching him fight again was also entrancing. He made it look beautiful and lethal at the same time. He was a one-man army, the kind of warrior that protected his loved ones and brought terror to his enemies-And that's when a horrible revelation hit me."Stop!" I suddenly yelled. "I'll come! I'll come with you!"No one heard me at first. They were too involved with the fight. 

Guardians kept trying to sneak behind Dimitri, but he seemed to sense them and would shove chairs or anything else he could get a hold of at them-while still managing to kick and punch those coming at us head-on. Who knew? Maybe he really could have taken on an army by I couldn't let him.I shook Dimitri's arm. "Stop," I repeated. "Don't fight anymore.""Rose-""Stop!" I was pretty sure I'd never screamed any word so loudly in my life. It rang through the room. For all I knew, it rang through the entire didn't exactly make everyone come to a halt, but many of the guardians slowed down. A few of the cowering cafe workers peered over the counter at us. Dimitri was still in motion, still ready to take everyone on, and I had to practically throw myself at him to get him to notice me."Stop." This time, my voice was a whisper. An uneasy silence had fallen over everyone. "Don't fight them anymore. I'm going to go with them.""No. I won't let them take you.""You have to," I was breathing hard, every part of him braced and ready to attack. We locked gazes, and a thousand messages seemed to flow between us as the old electricity crackled in the air. I just hoped he got the right of the guardians tentatively stepped forward-having to go around the unconscious body of his colleague-and Dimitri's tension snapped. He started to block the guardian and defend me again, but I instead put myself between them, clasping Dimitri's hand and still looking into his eyes. His skin was warm and felt so, so right touching mine."Please. No more."I saw then that he finally understood what I was trying to say. People were still afraid of him. No one knew what he was. Lissa had said him behaving calmly and normally would soothe fears. But this? Him taking on an army of guardians? That was not going to get him points for good behavior. For all I knew, it was already too late after this, but I had to attempt damage control. I couldn't let them lock him up again-not because of he looked at me, he seemed to send a message of his own: that he would still fight for me, that he would fight until he collapsed to keep them from taking me.I shook my head and gave his hand a parting squeeze. His fingers were exactly as I remembered, long and graceful, with calluses built up from

years of training. I let go and turned to face the guy who had originally spoken. I assumed he was some sort of leader.I held out my hands and slowly stepped forward. "I'll go quietly. But, please . . . don't lock him back up. He just thought . . . he just thought I was in trouble."The thing was, as the handcuffs were clamped onto my wrists, I was starting to think I was in trouble too. As the guardians helped each other up, their leader took a deep breath and made the proclamation he'd been trying to make since entering. I swallowed, waiting to hear Victor's name. "Rose Hathaway, you are under arrest for high treason."Not quite what I'd expected. Hoping my submission had earned me points, I asked, "What kind of high treason?""The murder of Her Royal Majesty, Queen Tatiana."

"HOLY SHIT! NEXT CHAPTER!" Viktoria yelled.

"Abe?' Adrian asked.

"Sure." he said.

**REVIEW.**

**Im sorry I know this is my worst chapter ever.**


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